November worst on record for hospital overcrowding with 563 children on trolleys

University Hospital Limerick was the most overcrowded hospital in November with 1,596 patients without beds. Picture: Dan Linehan 

November was the worst month on record for hospital overcrowding, with more than 560 children forced to wait on trolleys for a bed, the nurses' union has said

Figures released by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation’s (INMO) showed a total of 12,624 patients on trolleys in November, including 563 children, with hospitals in Limerick and Cork topping the overcrowded list

University Hospital Limerick (UHL) was the most overcrowded hospital with 1,596 patients waiting for a bed, followed by Cork University Hospital (CUH) with 1,334 patients on trolleys.

On Wednesday morning, 632 patients await a bed in Irish hospitals, with UHL accounting for 99 patients and CUH 73.

INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha described this November as "yet another chaotic month in Irish hospitals".

"We have only had two days this month where there has been less than 500 people admitted to hospital without an inpatient bed. For the first time we have had over 563 children admitted without a bed in our hospitals. This cannot continue."

Ms Ní Sheaghdha said children’s hospitals are experiencing "severe staffing shortages" with up to 45% staffing deficits in some sites, and long-standing vacancies in nurse manager roles. 

"This is reflected in very high numbers of children waiting on trolleys across the CHI sites, accompanied by relatives in very cramped and overcrowded spaces," she said.

It is now commonplace that up to 40 sick children a day have to wait for a bed, while nurses in the hospitals struggle to provide safe care."

Ms Ní Sheaghdha added that not only was it dangerous for staff and for patients, "it is simply no way to safely treat sick children who are admitted to hospital". 

"It also places a further burden on families who have to experience long waits while accompanying a sick child, potentially overnight."

She has called on management and the HSE to focus on recruitment, retention, accommodation and capacity at these sites as a matter of urgency, in order to "put an end to the disgraceful scenes we’re currently seeing in the children’s hospitals".

“We know that we are seeing acute problems with hospital overcrowding in the Mid-West and along the Western seaboard. 

"Our members expect the HSE and the Government to treat this issue as the emergency it is and meet with the INMO to address the issues we have raised as immediately necessary to maintain safe care this winter. 

We do not want to be put in a position where care is compromised due to inaction from Government and the HSE."

Earlier this month, the INMO reported that more than 100,000 patients were forced to wait without a bed in hospitals so far this year.

In the most extreme cases, patients have waited up to four days for a bed, leading nurses to describe it as "possibly the worst crisis our public hospitals have ever seen".